One
of the greatest acts of love Our Lord could ever perform was to bequeath
to us this august sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

At
that instance during Mass when the priest pronounces the words of
consecration: “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood,” a
conversion takes place which surpasses all laws of nature. The whole
substance of the bread is changed into the whole substance of the Body of
Christ and the whole substance of the wine into the whole substance of His
Blood, while the accidents or species (i.e. size, shape, color, taste,
smell) remain unchanged.

This
double consecration is known as transubstantiation and constitutes
Catholic dogma, that is, a truth revealed by God and therefore must be
believed.

The
Church obliges the faithful to receive the Eucharist at least once a year.

However,
wise and vigilant are the faithful who receive this Food of the angels
regularly, if not daily, especially in these days of darkness when
literally all hell is loosed upon earth going about seeking whom they may
devour (1 Peter 5.8).

Just
like the human body, the soul needs daily nourishment or it will break
down and then become easy prey for the evil one.

There
is no better defense system or Divine weapon than this Heavenly Manna,
especially against temptations of the flesh: “Holy Communion is the
remedy whereby we are delivered from daily faults and preserved from
mortal sins" (Council of Trent).

Naturally,
one must be free of serious sin to receive and the better disposed one is,
the more enriching and blessed is this union with Jesus.

The
manner in which one receives is vital to the integrity of this holy
Sacrament, and so, Our Lady and Our Lord have given and stressed the
following three directives for the proper reception of Holy Communion:

•
from the consecrated hands of a priest (no deacons or extraordinary
ministers)

•
on the tongue (no communion in the hand or communicating from the
chalice)

•
kneeling (infirmity excuses)

Nothing
less than the traditional discipline—observed for centuries until the
late 1960s—is acceptable to Heaven.

Let
us always conduct ourselves in a way that reflects our ardent devotion and
faith in the Real Presence, so others will see in us a reminder of this
sublime truth and a worthy example to imitate.